The heat treatment of materials within a substantially air-tight enclosure is not entirely new as evidenced by the disclosure of Asquini Pat. No. 3,227,627, as well as in the disclosure of Kemmerer and Buschow Pat. No. 3,475,286. However, in both of the aforementioned patents, no provision is made for the feed of materials onto the hearth in separate and distinct rows and retained in separate and spaced apart rows throughout the time the materials are subjected to a heat treatment within the enclosure.
Thus, with the above in mind, it is the primary object of the invention to provide a means whereby materials or substances capable of evolving volatiles when subjected to a heat treatment are fed onto a horizontally disposed traveling hearth and retained in a separate and distinct row from the time of entry into the enclosure until the removal thereof from onto the hearth while simultaneously maintaining separate and spaced apart rows of non-volatile or essentially non-volatile containing materials or substances on the hearth and whereby the heat created by the combustion of the evolved volatiles from said one row of materials is utilized to heat treat the non-volatile or essentially non-volatile containing materials or substances which are also on the hearth but which have been deposited thereon in separate and spaced apart rows and retained in spaced apart rows while the materials are undergoing heat treatment within the enclosure.
Another object of the invention is to provide spaced apart feed chutes for the deposit of both volatile and non-volatile or essentially non-volatile containing materials or substances onto the hearth in spaced apart rows and retained in such spaced apart rows during the time the materials or substances are subjected to a heat treatment within an enclosure.
Another object of the invention is to form a traveling hearth in separate sections said sections extending on the same horizontal plane and mounted on suitable supporting means to thus permit for each section of the hearth to be separately driven by any suitable power means thus enabling the sections to be rotated at differing speeds and/or driven in opposite directions in order to properly process the materials or substances deposited onto the separate sections of the hearth.
Another object of the invention is to provide a plurality of sets of rabbles mounted in the roof of the enclosure, each set of rabbles designed to extend to a position closely adjacent to the floor of the hearth and so positioned in the roof of the enclosure as to permit each set of rabbles to engage with the spaced apart rows of materials or substances on the hearth to turn over the materials and to simultaneously direct the same to suitable discharge exits formed in the enclosure.
Another object of the invention is to provide a recessed area or well on the hearth to receive therein a suitable volatile evolving material such as oil, or the like.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means whereby objects to be heat treated within an enclosure are arranged in staggered relationship and in separate and spaced apart rows so as to permit for the objects to be charged into the enclosure and removed from therewithin by any suitable mechanism such as a pusher arm or the like which can be power operated to effect the placement of objects within the enclosure and to effect the removal of the objects from within the enclosure following the proper heat treatment of the objects within the enclosure.
These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention, which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this method and apparatus, preferred embodiments of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein: